What’s the Scoop on Sustainability at LIM?

by
Carolina Gonzalez

I had the pleasure of attending the LIM College Sustainability Scoop, put on by LIM’s Sustainability Task Force on Friday, April 23 at the conclusion of Earth Week. I learned about the efforts that our College is taking towards becoming a more sustainable campus.

sustainability scoop taskforce

Did you know that LIM joined the NYC Carbon Challenge in 2018 and has a mission to reduce the carbon footprint across the College by 50% by 2030? LIM has calculated and assessed their 2019 footprint and is now working on calculating their 2020 emissions to further establish and communicate what needs to be worked towards.

Our Sustainability Task Force plans to attempt a reduction in the College’s footprint by 5% each year, to get to 50% in 10 years.

Sustainability Scoop Poster

The Task Force also wants to make sure to incorporate LIM students in being part of this project to make LIM a sustainable campus that will meet its goal of minimizing waste and recycling. For example, they have encouraged us to make use of the water bottle refilling stations that were installed in 2019. They also have a vision to become a paperless campus within 10 years. This is a goal I like working towards, and progress has already been made. Did you know that when the "no-printing" plan started in 2019, the school ordered the same amount of paper over three months that they previously ordered over the course of one month? I'm also excited to hear that LIM wants to reduce reliance on disposable, single-use containers and plasticware.

When the topic of the LIM Bookstore came up, I couldn’t help but think how LIM merchandise could be designed by students using sustainable resources. Our student body would have a great time brainstorming ideas for sustainable school merchandise!

Overall, I found it very cool that the College shared this data with us. I’m eager to see what the emissions data will be like when 2020 is measured and compared to 2019, as well as what it will be like once many LIM students are going to classes in person again.